Silent Sufferer
by spikeyhairgood
Summary: Jess Mariano now has his life together, but what happens when he decides to help a seventeen year old girl get her life together? Will he be able to handle it, or is he going to need help from the place that made him feel suffocated? Literai JavaJunkie.
1. Riley

_**Summary**: Jess Mariano now has his life together, but what happens when he decides to help a seventeen year old girl get her life together? Will he be able to handle it, or is he going to need help from the place that made him feel suffocated? (The summary is likely to change)_

_**Disclaimer**: I do not own Jess Mariano, or Truncheon Books. I only own the original character._

_**A/N**: Okay, so this is my first Gilmore Girls story, so your opinions would really help me out in writing this. **It takes place after the Truncheon Books opening which means everything after that has not happened. **Anyway, I hope you readers enjoy this, and please tell me what you think about it. Good or bad, reviews are always appreciated. _

- - - -

Jess Mariano, stumbled through the hallway, after the opening of Truncheon Books. A beer was dangling from his fingers, and he dug through his pockets for his keys, sticking it in, with a turn of the knob. Spotting the tiny girl, sprawled on the couch, he quietly closed it behind him. He walked over to her, standing above her, casting a shadow, and took the four _Smirnoff's_ by her side. She had a book in her hand, and iPod headphones in her ears, blaring music for the whole apartment to hear.

"Ah, Riley." Jess mumbled, as he laid the bottles into the recycling trash. He grabbed the remote, which was randomly in the middle of the kitchen floor. He took Riley's feet, and sat down, putting her feet on top of his legs. He turned the TV on, and flipped to TV land, to find _I Dream of Genie_. Jess nodded, and put the remote down. He glanced down at Riley; remembering how she started sleeping nightly on his apartment couch.

"Shut up!" Jess heard, and ran to open the door that led into the hallway. There she was, at five foot two, with her jacket in her hand, iPod headphone dragging against the floor from inside the pocket, and two books in the other hand. Her brother, Ray, appeared at the door, face evident with anger, and he began to stomp after Riley. Jess grabbed Riley's arm, and pulled her in, quickly shutting it behind her.

"Riley, what the hell did you do this time?" Jess asked, as Riley stood there. She looked tough, but her eyes were shouting fear.

"Jess!" Both Jess and Riley backed away from the door upon hearing the loud bang, from a fist against it. "Let me in! Riley, get your skinny chicken ass out here!"

Jess looked at Riley, who shrugged.

"Not until you calm down, Ray. She'll stay here tonight. She'll be back there tomorrow," Jess said, and Ray banged the door once more, before dragging his feet back to the apartment he and Riley shared.

"So what happened after you ran up here saying Rory came tonight?" Riley mumbled, with her eyes closed, and her jet black hair bangs covering half her face. Jess snapped out of his previous memory, and looked down at her.

Jess smirked to himself, just at the thought of Rory coming to Philadelphia. The smirk was lost when he realized that she came to use him, and left after he kissed her.

"I'll tell you tomorrow," Jess said, staring at the TV.

"Four words. It really can't be good then. A good answer would have been a good solid five words," Riley mumbled, barely audible, and then got knocked out again.

"Riley Jane," Jess shook his head. "What are we gonna do with you?"

With Riley Jane's silent screams for help, Jess felt like he was the only one in the whole apartment building that could understand her. Maybe it was because she had the same sarcasm, the same taste in books, and the same taste of music. Or maybe it was because she was the replicate of him when he was younger; arrogant, and losing everything she had. She was his mini, who was seventeen, and a girl. God, he was her Luke Danes.


	2. Stars Hollow

_Disclaimer: I don't own Jess, but I do own the characters of Riley and Ray. _

_A/N: So, I laid the angst pretty thick in this one, but it's only because I wanted to get the whole Ray Riley business out of the way, and explained. I'll try to get more of that sarcastic Mariano charm in the next chapter, but I hope you guys like this one anyway. Thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate them, and I'm glad that the first chapter got a pretty good response. Anyway, on to the chapter, and please review, keep telling me what you think._

- - - -

"Hey," Jess said to Riley, who almost walked out of the door. "You going to school?"

Riley smiled, and gave a laugh, "Right, and I'm going to college next year too. I'm just gonna get some clothes at Ray's."

Jess closed his bedroom door, "You want me to go with you?"

Jess was always concerned with Riley when she would go down the hall to Ray's. He didn't know if Ray was sober and not wasted out of his mind. And if he was sober, he was afraid that Riley would get him riled up, and he'll come stomping down the hall again. Jess thought his own family was dysfunctional, but he couldn't give himself self pity after hearing about Riley's family. An Italian dad, who left the family when Riley was born, just like Jess's dad, only Riley's dad decided to stick around to be a burden for a year, after Ray was born. Ray and Riley's Filipino mother raised them on her own, working two jobs to support the family, died from cancer when Riley was only fifteen. Leaving her with Ray, a sixteen year old, who couldn't handle the pressure. So what does a kid do to support the family? What you can do in Philly? Sell drugs; which left Riley at home most days, and no reason to go to school. It took Riley four months to tell Jess that story, which she bundled up into a five minute explanation.

"No, I'll be fine," Riley said, closing the door behind her.

Jess took a bowl out of the cabinet and poured_ Captain Crunch_ in. He stuffed cereal in his mouth, milk trickling down his chin, and thought. It killed him to see Riley throw her life away. In the year and a half he's known her, he never truly noticed that Riley should be going to school, and she should be getting her life in order, to be better than Ray or her dad could ever be. But how do you do that? How did Jess get it together?

"Hm," Jess made a noise, as he slurped the milk, and an answer came like a light bulb flickering on. Stars Hallow. He would bring her to Stars Hallow. It was the very moment Jess's life got worse for the better. Maybe it would do a miracle for Riley.

"Hey!" Jess said, surprised at his excited tone.

"What the hell happened to you when I left?" Riley said, dropping her bag of clothes on the floor. She looked at him oddly, while grabbing a bowl for herself.

"Nothing. I just wanna go somewhere this weekend," Jess shrugged, trying to be nonchalant.

"That sounds good. Where ya goin?" Riley asked, pouring milk in with her cereal.

"Connecticut."

"Because you plan in enrolling in Yale University, because Rory's there?" Riley asked, with a smirk, knowing bringing Rory into the conversation would bring a flinch to Jess's face.

"No, because I wanna take you to Stars Hollow," Jess said, and Riley spit her milk into the sink.

"That almost came out of my nose," She mumbled to herself.

"I'm serious."

"That seriously almost came out of my nose," She put her bowl down, and put her hand on her hip. "Why do you want to bring me to your personal hell?"

"It's not my personal hell," Jess groaned. "I want you to meet Luke. I think it would be really good for you to meet Luke."

"Why?"

"Because Luke's great."

"Why?"

"Why is Luke great?" Jess asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"Riley," Jess stared at her, ending the childish banter.

"Jess, I am not going to Stars Hallow with you," Riley turned around to face the sink. Jess sighed, staring at his socks, and at the remote, which was oddly in the middle of the kitchen floor, again. "Unless I go there, and you tell Rory about the love, you seriously need to get out into the world." Riley faced Jess with a smirk on.

"No." Jess was stern, and Riley shrugged.

"Fine, I'm not going then."

Jess growled, scrunched his nose, and spoke through his teeth, "Fine."


	3. Gum Spitter

_Disclaimer: Only own the original characters around here. _

_A/N: I'm glad you guys like the whole Riley going to Stars Hallow thing, heh. Thanks for the reviews and story alerts! It's always nice to see people are reading continuously. Anyway, on to the chapter, I hope you like it, and please tell me what you think and keep those reviews coming._

- - - -

"What are you doing?" Jess asked Riley, who was scribbling words on a post-it.

"I'm telling Ray we're going somewhere," Riley responded, and slid the post-it through the door.

"Aw, that's cute," Jess said, as Riley rolled her eyes.

"Shut it," Riley said, walking past Jess.

- - - -

Riley, who laid her head against the head rest of the bus, would groan every few minutes to make it clear to Jess that she didn't want to go. "Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?" Jess asked, knowing it was a stupid question.

"Why do you want me to die because of this Taylor Doose that you speak of?" She lifted her head, and stared at Jess, who smirked, looking down. "Does it look like I'm making a joke?" Jess looked over at her, and the smirk dropped. "I'm serious, why so set on making me go to Stars Hallow?" Jess shrugged, "Yeah, thanks that helps."

"I don't know what to tell ya, kid."

"Don't answer me then, just think about the way you're gonna say I love you to Rory," Riley turned to face the traffic, and Jess groaned, his head hitting the head rest of his own seat. Riley smiled to herself in triumph.

- - - -

"You didn't answer my question," Riley said, as Jess told her they were a few minutes from entering the town with an old fashioned candy shop, spelled with two P's, and the Bid-A-Basket festivals, that she was told stories about.

"I want you to see how those extremely clean and scary, happy people are," Jess joked, in his serious tone. When Riley didn't retort, he knew she was serious, and slightly annoyed. "I think you'll learn something good out of this."

Riley turned to face him, "Like stop littering because it's bad for the environment?"

"Something like that," Jess gave a nod.

"You're impossible." Riley said, and then mumbled, "I need a drink." Jess sighed quietly to himself, which reminded him exactly why she had to go to Stars Hollow. She had to get it together, and maybe Luke could be the one to do it. If Luke didn't work out, then there was always Emily, but Riley would probably end up jumping out the window and never going back.

- - - -

"Oh my God, would you look at how clean these streets are?" Riley said, stepping off the bus. Although it was already night time, and the streets were clear, she couldn't see a single piece of gum stuck onto the concrete. "I dare you to lick it."

"Sure, right after I drink mud water," Jess replied, and heard Riley chewing like a cow. He turned around, knowing she was ready to spit her wad of gum out, and she was just taking the flavor from it. "Stop it!" He yelled in a whisper. "If you spit that on the ground, Taylor will find it, and I swear this town has cameras all over the damn place, so they'll know I was here, and they'll know you spit the gum. So Taylor will badger Luke, who will badger me, and although he won't be taking my pay, it'll be hell. Then you'll just sit in the corner and laugh." Riley stared at him, as he spoke fast, with this head bobbing right to left. "Just don't spit it out."

Riley shook her head, ashamed at how clean it was, and grimaced at the trash can that also looked relatively clean for a trash can. She stopped in front of it, tempted to knock it over. She scrunched her nose before walking away, and catching up with Jess. "So, this is Luke's?" She asked, as they stopped in front of it.

"This is Luke's."

They stood there, the wind blowing, "Well how nostalgic do you have to be to not open the door, or even knock on it?"

Jess stepped up the few steps, and reached for the key, "It's here somewhere."

"Yeah, because this right here, doesn't look bad at all," Riley looked around, starting to believe that there were secret camera's watching their every move.

The lights came on, and Jess fell back in surprise, onto Riley, who pushed him forward. Tripping, Jess fell right into the glass door, his face squished against it. He looked towards the stairs to see Lorelai in one of Luke's flannel t-shirts, staring at him in shock. She quickly turned around, and ran up the stairs.

"Perfect," Jess mumbled, standing up.


	4. Getting Along

_Disclaimer: No owning going on, except for Riley. _

_A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I enjoy them lots. Somebody asked me how Jess and Riley met, but I'll have to put that in the next chapter. Oh, and please remember everything after the episode The Real Paul Anka, doesn't happen, and Lorelai does not find out about Rory visiting Jess at Lane's wedding. There's a lot of awkwardness after the surprise of Lorelai barely dressed, so I hope you guys like this chapter. Oh, and please, keep the reviews coming! I love knowing what you guys think._

- - - - -

Jess's arms hung at his sides, his lids sitting still, and his eyes concentrated on the entrance towards the stairs. He slowly turned around to see Riley, who stood there, face blank, no smile, no raised eyebrow. Just staring at him.

"So that's Rory's mom?" Riley asked.

"Yeah," Jess said, looking back into Luke's. The lights still on, with no indication that Lorelai was coming back.

"She's hot," Riley said, and Jess snapped his head back towards her. "Oh, come on."

Jess shook his head, and faced forward to see Lorelai appear, with a sweater and sweat pants on. He guessed that she wanted to be fully covered this time. She had pink bunny slippers as she walked across; giving a semi polite smile at Jess, while unlocking it.

"Hey Jess," Lorelai realized Riley's presence, and gave her a polite smile, as well. "What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for Luke," Jess said, looking around him. "Is he here?"

Lorelai shook her head, a bit of insecurity in her eyes. It was something that Jess had never seen before, "No, he's out. He went to go drop April off."

Jess's head tilted to the right, "It's 10:30, Luke's out at 10:30?"

Lorelai nodded, "It's a new thing. He's finally made his bedtime later."

"Understandable, you know since he's older now," Jess looked down at his shoes, feeling uncomfortable that he and Lorelai were sharing their first decent conversation, a few minutes after he saw her in Luke's flannel.

"Mm, exactly," Lorelai said, standing there, looking around during the short silence. "Oh!" Her finger flew into the air, "Come on in." She said, moving out of their way.

Jess looked at Riley, who watched in fascination. She probably questioned the stories of the horrible confrontations, because of the pleasant one she just witnessed.

"Hey," Lorelai said, as Riley passed by. Riley smiled slightly, and gave a nod. Lorelai looked at Jess, as if she knew this was Jess's clone. At least Riley smiled in return.

"This is Riley," Jess introduced, looking at Riley, "Riley, this is Lorelai."

Lorelai smiled at Riley, and Riley tried her best to smile back politely. The three stood there, with no conversation topics to discuss, not even Lorelai could bring something up to make it less awkward.

"Jess?" The door opened, and they all turned, sighing in relief of the captivating, and exciting conversation that they were wrapped in. Luke looked at the Lorelai and Jess, who had smiles on their face. His eyes also drifted to the girl with skinny black jeans, a red hoodie, and her jet black hair hanging past her shoulders; she was staring, face blank. "What are you doing here?" Luke asked, looking at her, deciding whether she was Jess's friend or Jess's new girl, which she looked way too young for.

"Nice to see you again, Luke," Jess gave a nod.

"Yeah, yeah. What are you doing here? It's late. You still going home after here?" Luke asked, locking the door.

"I'm so glad to see you two days in a row Uncle Luke, and it's nice to know you feel the same," Jess said, sitting at the counter.

Luke sighed, already growing weary of Jess's comebacks, "Hi Jess."

"Hi Luke," Jess said, his face glowing in triumph. "Well Luke, I've come here to visit you, to visit this lovely place of Stars Hallow, and to annoy you until you wanna shoot me."

"I'm glad you've come with good intentions," Luke stepped behind the counter, grabbing three cups, and setting them in front of the three.

Jess looked over at Riley, who was staring at the counter, her eyes getting tired, and her mouth clenched in anger, "I wanted you to meet Riley too."

"Hey Riley," Luke said to Riley, who gave the shy, slight smile.

Riley looked at Luke, Jess, and Lorelai, who stared at her, Luke and Lorelai's eyes filled with questions, "I live down the hall. Jess just feeds me, and lends his couch sometimes."

"Ah," Lorelai nodded. "I knew you looked too young to be going out with Jess."

Jess raised an eyebrow, "Wait, what?"

"Nothing," Lorelai mumbled, turning her head away from Jess's confused expression.

Jess looked over at Riley, her face filled with uncertainty, and in need of a desperate escape, "Hey, you wanna watch TV upstairs?" Jess looked at Luke, his face pleading.

"Oh, yeah," Luke said to Riley, looking towards the stairs. "You can go upstairs."

Riley stood up, and whispered, barely audible, "Thanks."

Luke listened intently until he knew she went into the apartment, "So, what's with the girl?" He said passing Jess a donut.

"Well," Jess took a big bite of it. "I wanted to bring her here so you could whip her into shape."

"What?"

"Well," Jess took another bite. "She's basically me at seventeen."

"Oh," Luke said, and Lorelai nodded at him. "What do you want me to do?"

Jess shrugged, "Pull the miracle that you did with me?" Lorelai looked at Jess, finally seeing what Luke was talking about when he said that Jess grew up. That he was making a living for himself, and doing a damn fine job of it. The one thing she didn't understand was how Rory left Philadelphia still wanting Logan, when she Jess in front of her face.


	5. Lorelai, Jess, and the dislike for Logan

_Disclaimer: No Jess, Lorelai, Luke owing here. Only own Riley, and her brother._

_A/N: This chapter is kind of short, and doesn't have much in it, but it does have how Riley and Jess met. I promise the next one will have a bit more to it. Thanks for those awesome reviews, and thoughts on the story; love 'em. Here's the next chapter, enjoy, and please, keep those reviews coming!_

- - - - - -

"Luke, come on!" Jess said, following Luke behind the counter. "She's just a little girl," Jess continued to try to convince Luke, who was adamant on saying no.

"If she's you at seventeen, and a girl, that means I've got more worry about," Luke said, facing Jess. "No."

"But she needs help more than I did," Jess was practically on his knees begging. "She's smarter than me, she's got more potential than me, she needs a better life than just living in an apartment with me, and not going to school."

"Why are you doing this?" Luke asked staring at Jess, searching for an answer, not filled with sarcasm, but seriousness.

"Because she deserves it, but she was never given the chance to have do life right. Because I'm the only thing she has," Jess looked at Lorelai, knowing this was the first time she him in type of light. "Because she's the only thing I can make right at the moment." Jess cringed, when a flashback of Rory popped into his mind.

Luke still staring, sighed, and closed his eyes, mumbling, "Fine, you guys can stay here a few days."

Jess smirked, "I'd hug you, but you know."

"Yeah," Luke said, before heading towards the stairs.

"Didn't know you were the hero type," Lorelai said, pouring another cup of coffee for herself, and then poured some for Jess.

"Well, the hero thing is only a night job," Jess said, grabbing another donut.

"So how'd you meet her?" Lorelai asked, sitting on the counter chair next to him.

"Uh," Jess said, trying to recover his thoughts. "I think it was two years ago, or wait, a year and a half ago, maybe." Jess shrugged, "I've seen her couple of times waiting on the stairs, sitting in front of her and her brother's apartment door. Then one day, I'm coming up from work and she says, "You know if you play The Distillers that loud you start to lose the drums, and I'm not saying you shouldn't be playing it loud, but you lose those beats, what's the point? I mean you only hear the guitars and those screeching, yet beautiful vocals."

Lorelai took a sip of her coffee, "Wow, you remember every word?"

"Yeah," Jess gave a nod. "And then she said, "Oh, and I Dream of Genie, and Bewitched? C'mon man."

"You can never forget the first time you've had those classics insulted," Lorelai mumbled, and Jess nodded.

The two sat in silence, with the subject of Rory floating around in the air.

"So," Of course it would be Lorelai to bring it out into the open. "Rory told me what happened."

"I figured she would," Jess stared at the inside of his coffee cup. "Is she happy, at least?"

"I don't even know," Lorelai shook her head. "I hate Logan."

"Me too," Jess clenched his teeth.

"I think that's the first time we ever agreed on something," Lorelai gave a laugh, to the irony of it. "If it makes you feel better, I would pick you over Logan."

"What a compliment to hear-" Before Jess could finish, he could hear the yell of a girl, fury evident in her voice. She yelled Jess, and he cringed. "That's not a good tone."

Her feet ran down the stairs, and she flung the curtain away with one hand. "What the hell is Luke talking about when he says, I hope you enjoy your stay in Stars Hollow, and I think you'll like it after a few days?" Jess looked at Lorelai, who made a face, then practically ran up the stairs. "Answer me." Her eyes were furious, and she was ready to rip Jess into pieces.

He held up his half eaten donut, and put it in the air towards her, "Strawberry donut? It's your favorite."


	6. Forks and Fights

_Disclaimer: Don't own any Gilmore Girls characters, just Riley, and Ray. _

_A/N: Thanks for the reviews! So this chapter is kind of long, but I hope you guys like it anyway. There's still that mix of angst and humor, so expect some of that angst. On to the chapter, and please, keep those reviews coming! _

- - - -

Not even glancing at the strawberry donut, Riley picked up a fork from the counter. Jess's eyes got wide, and he stood up, while she started to walk towards him.

"Riley, put the damn fork down," Jess said, still holding the strawberry donut in front of him. "What the hell are you gonna do with a fork anyway?" With that Riley growled, and ran after Jess, who ran around the counter. "Riley!" Jess looked back to see her inches away from stabbing him with a fork.

"Hey!" A voice from the stairs interrupted the chase. "Take this outside if you're gonna yell and," Luke looked at Riley, fork in hand, "chase each other with forks?"

Riley grabbed a handful of Jess's shirt, and pulled him out the door, "Fine."

"One of the last things I thought I would ever see," Luke mumbled, making his way back upstairs.

- - -

"Why did you do this? Bring me to this hell-hole of a town, and then not tell me that you plan on keeping me here for a few days?" Riley yelled, throwing the fork at Jess's chest.

Jess looked down at the fork, "It's prettier during the day time." Riley stared at him, face serious, "I need you to stop drinking." 

"What?" 

"I need you to go to school. I need you to get a better life than you live now. I need you to get your act together. I don't think I can help you by myself, but this town," Jess looked him. "This town had some of the worst moments in it." Jess said, with a flashback filled with Dean, Rory, a house party, and flashing police lights, filling his mind. He shook his head, shaking the memory out of his concentration, "But it's like a miracle town. If these people can deal with Taylor Doose _and_ change my life, then it's a miracle town."

Riley sat down on the side walk, her back turned from Jess. She sighed and asked, "Why?"

Jess sat down next to her, trying to make eye contact, but Riley kept her eyes glued to the floor, "Because you deserve it, and I don't want you ending up like Ray."

Riley's eyes got a little wider as a memory flooded her mind. She winced a bit at the pain of it.

Riley stuck and her head out of the apartment door, seeing her older brother, the only family she had left, the only hero she had left. She smiled at him, thinking he knew she was there, but she just stared at him, with his dark jeans, fitted black t-shirt, and spikey hair. He mumbled something to someone Riley figured was standing on the stairs. Riley tilted her head as she saw Ray dig something out of his pocket, exchanging it for money. Drug dealing. Ray was going to ruin their lives by drug dealing. Ray's brown tear dropped eyes, met with Riley's glaring eyes. He stared at her, eyes full of regret, and she slammed the door loud enough that the whole building would hear.

"I'm fine. I don't need someone saving me," Riley mumbled, before getting up, her arms crossed, holding herself for security. She walked straight into the darkness.

"Where are you going?" Jess yelled, knowing she would be fine anyway. It was Stars Hallow, what could go wrong?

"Around," Riley yelled back.

"Riley, I just wanted to-" Jess said, before Riley looked back.

"I'm not gonna screw up at bad as you did, okay? Don't worry about it," She said, before disappearing into the darkness. Jess sighed, as he sulked into the diner. He looked outside one last time, with no Riley in sight, before making his way upstairs.

- - -

"Hey, where is she?" Luke asked, as Jess closed the door behind him.

"Walking around," Jess answered like it was no big deal.

"Jess, its pitch black out there, and it's almost midnight! How could you let her walk around?" Luke asked, following Jess to the couch that Jess threw himself on.

"I didn't let her," Jess mumbled, his face buried in the pillow. "She just went."

"Oh, and what if Taylor finds her? You really gonna let her meet Taylor with no one around to witness her punching him the face? What if a bear finds her? You really gonna let her get eaten by a bear?" Luke continued, and Jess didn't move. "Jess, you listening to me?"

"Goodnight Uncle Luke, it's nice to be back," Jess mumbled before getting knocked out.

"This kid," Luke mumbled, getting into bed with Lorelai, who smiled. "What?"

"You miss him," Lorelai said, snuggling into Luke.

Luke smiled to himself, mumbling, "Kinda, I guess."

- - - -

Walking down the stairs, while putting on his hat, Luke opened the curtain, not looking up, and started a pot of coffee.

"Can I get a cup?" Luke jumped, turning around to see Kirk sitting at one of the tables, by himself. He was sitting up straight, with no expression on his face.

"Kirk," Luke said, catching his breath, feeling his heart beat again. "How'd you get in here?"

Kirk shrugged, looking at the door, "It wasn't locked, so I figured I could just wait here inside instead of waiting outside."

"The door wasn't locked?" Luke asked himself, trying to remember if he saw Riley anywhere in the apartment before he left. "The door wasn't locked." Luke shook his head, running upstairs to bring wrath down on Jess.

"So, can I just pour it myself?" Kirk asked the silence, with his hands folded.


	7. Grandpa

_Disclaimer: Only own Riley and Ray, don't own anything else. _

_A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Not much goes on in this chapter, but a few characters from the show spring up, and they'll most likely come up again too, but the chapter gives you more a feel for that Riley and Jess relationship. Anyway, on to it, sorry it's on the long side, and please, keep those reviews coming._

- - - -

"Jess!" Luke was on his knees, shaking Jess, who shot a fierce glare. "You have to find her! She never came home! Riley! She's gone! What if she went back home? What if she got attacked by a bear?" Jess sat up, glaring at Luke, and then looked at the time. He groaned at the mere sight of five-forty-five. "Jess, are you listening to me? You have to go find her before Taylor does.

With the same glare on his face, Jess grabbed his black hoodie, and his shoes. With a flick of his right hand, the hood fell atop his head. He opened the curtain to see Kirk sitting there, and Jess raised an eyebrow.

"Jess," Kirk said, not sounding surprised, mad, or sad. It was Kirk. He didn't have much emotion in his voice. "What are you doing up?"

Without an answer, Jess walked past him, and out the door, to leave Kirk by himself once again.

"Where the hell could she be?" Jess asked himself, dragging his hand over his face. He thought of stories he told her of places he used to hang out. She wasn't in the middle of the gazebo reading a book, or sitting on a bench staring at Taylor's place with disgust. Jess sighed, and walked in the direction Riley walked in since he last saw her.

- - - -

"Hey," Jess mumbled, sitting next to Riley on the wooden bridge, as she kept her stare at her reflection in the water.

"Hey," Riley replied, without the anger she had in her voice the night before.

"You stay here all night?" Jess asked, yawning.

"Nope," Riley said, without an explanation.

"Right," Jess said, as they sat in silence.

"How do we save Ray?" Riley asked, and Jess looked at Riley's reflection in the murky green water, shimmering in the sunrise.

"I don't know," Jess said, not wanting to lie to her.

"Can we save Ray?" She asked, making eye contact with Jess from the water.

"Maybe," Jess said, staring back at her.

Riley looked away, down the other side of the bridge, "Yeah, maybe."

- - - -

"Luke freaked out when he found out you never came back last night," Jess said, a slight smirk at the thought of Luke's eyes wide, and high, fast paced voice. "He doesn't even know you yet, and he's already freaking out."

"Why?" Riley smiled because of Jess, who was laughing at this point.

Jess shrugged, "Because he cares." Jess looked up, seeing the diner already filled up with people, sharing gossip, and eating. He spotted Miss Patty and Babette, and sighed. "You better be ready."

"Ready for what?" Riley looked at Jess, then at the diner. "Oh, come on. I was gonna hermit my days here."

Jess shook his head, "Impossible." The two kept their heads down, trying not to make any eye contact with people walking around them. But they only succeeded in not seeing the person Riley was going to crash into.

"Oh, sorry," The male voice said, and Jess shut his eyes, hoping it wasn't the voice he was thinking it was. "Jess," Riley looked up at the tall specimen of a male, who snarled at Jess.

"Hey," Jess slowly looked up, glaring. "Dean."

"Jess and Dean: the future years," Riley smiled, looking at the two. "No response." Riley stopped smiling, watching the two still standing there, shooting looks at each other, without a word said. "My God, you two," Riley said, grabbing Jess's arm, and walking into the diner.

"I hate him," Jess said, clenching his fist.

"Really? I couldn't tell. From all the glaring, and snarling, I thought you guys were just playing the staring game," Riley said, as the diner soon became silent. Jess's eyes were looking around the diner, and soon Riley's was scanning the room of people staring at her. In a few seconds, eyebrows began to shoot up, people started to whisper, and Riley could hear the word 'her' buzzing through the place.

"That's enough," Luke said, walking out from behind the counter, and took Riley's shoulders, leading her towards the stairs. But not before Taylor stood up, and smiled down at Riley, who shot him a dirty look.

"Well, who is this Luke?" Taylor asked, as if Riley was twelve, kneeling down a little, since Riley's height was less vertical than others.

"I'm Luke's illegitimate kid. He had a fun night in New York City once, and I hope you know what I mean by _fun_, sir. Oh wait, is it grandpa? Anyway, he ended up with me. My mom's a cocaine addict, and I just ran away from home. It was just too much to handle, and Daddy Luke, _oh daddy Luke_. He's such a life savor." Riley said, ending with a smile on her face. Jess gave a laugh, and looked away from Taylor, whose jaw was dropped, and slowly began to stand straight, backing away from Riley.

"She's joking Taylor," Luke's face was stern; although he looked tempted to laugh in Taylor's face because he looked so insulted by Riley calling him grandpa.

"Those gray hairs are starting to multiply Grandpa," Kirk said, as Taylor shot a look at Kirk, who shrugged.

"Kirk!" Taylor exclaimed, as Luke, Riley, and Jess found it a time to go run upstairs.


	8. Luke and Riley

_Disclaimer: Don't own anything except Riley in this chapter. _

_A/N: Hah, I'm glad you guys liked the whole grandpa thing. This chapter is pretty much for the laughs, but it does have something that I'm sure readers have been waiting for. It's just a glimpse of what you guys want, but it does show up. Anyway, on to it, and please keep those wonderful reviews coming!_

- - - -

"Good job, man!" Jess said, throwing his hand in the air, contacting Riley's hand, who had a smile on her face.

Luke ran in after the two, hurrying to close, and lock the door, "No good job, no no good job." He shook his finger at Jess, who backed away, pulling Riley along with him. Riley looked up at Jess, whose eyes were wide. "Taylor is going to talk- no, no- complain about this for years to come! For years, Jess."

"It wasn't me who said it!" Jess yelled, defending himself.

"She must have learned from you!" Luke replied, shaking his head to Lorelai, who walked out of the bathroom. Jess looked down, growling at Riley, who had a smile on her face.

"What happened, you guys?" Lorelai asked Riley and Jess, knowing they were less calm than Luke was at the moment.

Jess smiled, "Riley told Taylor that Luke had a fun night in New York City, and she's his illegitimate child, and she called Taylor…" Jess paused for dramatic effect, "Grandpa."

With nothing but a jaw drop on her face, Lorelai approached Riley slowly, and then flung her hand in the air, "Very nice!"

Riley grinned, jumping up to give Lorelai a high five. The three smiled at Luke, who shook his head, sitting down at the kitchen table, "Shoot me now."

- - - - -

"Jess, you need to go help Caesar," Luke said, coming up the stairs.

"What?" There was a few moments where Jess's voice would crack, but that was sure one of those moments.

"I just went down there, and everyone is talking to me about Taylor, and how Taylor is going to never let this go, and how Taylor is going to kill me for letting my kid say that to him, and Taylor killing me is going to kill you," Luke pointed at Jess, who rolled his eyes, and closed the door behind him before Luke finished his last Taylor. After Luke watched Jess walk out, he turned his head to Riley, who tried to smile uncomfortably to him.

"You didn't think it was funny?" She asked, completely serious.

Staring at her a few seconds before giving a smirk, Luke replied with, "It was pretty damn funny, but Taylor is still going to haunt me for this."

Riley shrugged, as Luke handed her a Sprite, "I can sit on the steps, and I'm sure he'll stay away."

Luke sat across from her, smiled genuinely, "It sounds like a plan."

Watching Riley tap the top of her Sprite can, and then opening it, Luke realized that in Riley's gaze, there was always a glimpse of sadness and loneliness. She looked up asking, "How'd you know I like Sprite?"

- - - - - -

"Jess," Caesar said, as Jess walked past him. "What are you doing here?"

"Working," Jess said, as if he was asking a stupid question.

"But you don't even work here anymore?" Caesar asked, following Jess, who grabbed a pen and paper, ready to take orders.

"Do you want some help or not?" Jess asked, attitude in tact and Caesar held up his hands in defense, walking back to the kitchen. "I can't believe I'm doing this again." Jess said, not looking up, walking out from behind the counter, and towards the table closest to the door.

Hearing it open, Jess didn't pay any mind, until he heard that familiar voice, "Jess."

Jess looked up, not expecting this to happen, "Rory."

Rory looked around, her hands in her back pocket, "What are you doing here?"

"I, well, I had to take care of something," Jess said, feeling the awkwardness. "I had to bring Luke's illegitimate child back."


	9. Dean is an Idiot

_Disclaimer: Don't own anything except Riley. _

_A/N: Sorry, this chapter is long, and there's isn't much in it either, just a lot of dialogue, but it does bring up some issues that will arise later. ( LukeLorelaiApril / JessRory / and even some RileyDean drama) Thanks for the reviews, makes me smile that readers like this, and have accepted Riley as a good original character. Anyway, off to the chapter, and please, keep those reviews coming!_

- - - -

"Heh," Jess gave a nervous laugh as he and Rory sat uncomfortably in the silence of their conversation. "Uh," He stood up. "I uh, gotta go get Luke. He told me to go get him in fifteen minutes." Rory gave a nod, "See you later?"

"Oh," She waved. "Yeah, later." Jess smiled politely before running up the stairs, and throwing the apartment door closed.

"What the hell happened to you?" Riley asked, as she and Luke looked through CD's.

Jess closed his eyes, leaning again the door, breathing hard, "Rory's down there."

"Aw geez," Riley said, rolling her eyes. "Well go on and tell her! It's part of our deal."

Luke looked at Jess confused, "Tell her what?"

"Nothing," Jess said, sending a quick glare at Riley, as he sat down at the third chair at the small kitchen table. He picked a bunch of CD's to skim through. "Riley, get down there."

Riley dropped the CD's, and her jaw dropped, "What."

Jess looked at her, unfazed by her growling and glares, "You gotta learn how to work."

Riley snatched the CD's away from Jess, so he had to look at her, "I have a job back home."

"Well," Jess looked at Luke. "You should learn how to interact with the people of Stars Hollow. Come on just fifteen minutes." Riley rolled her eyes, "then it's Luke's turn."

Luke shook his finger, "No. Taylor is going to-"

"No, no." Riley said standing up, "You're gonna have to be down there in fifteen minutes because I _guarantee_ you that if you make me serve with a smile for any longer, you will have no customers left." Riley opened the door, and then pointed a finger at the two, "Fifteen minutes."

Jess looked at Luke, "She means it." Jess flinched when the door slammed, "Oh yeah, she means it." Jess nodded, picking up the pile of CD's that Riley took away from him.

- - - -

"Mom!" Rory ran out of Luke's, and began pulling her mother to their table, and placing her into the seat.

"Whoa, whoa. What's the shoving for?" Lorelai asked, putting her bag down, staring at the flustered Rory.

"Jess is here," Rory said, jaw dropped.

"I know." Lorelai looked at her, "I left you a message."

"A message that says, 'Hey Rory, Jess is here, see you later honey' does not count as informative," Rory said, looking back to the stairs in case Jess would come out. Lorelai sat there, while Rory's hands were flying around in the air. "Don't you care? I mean, you don't like Jess, don't you care that he's here?"

"Well Rory," Lorelai leaned it. "Jess isn't bad at all, anymore."

Rory stared at Lorelai, forehead beginning to crease, "Are you sick?"

"What?"

"Are you sick?" Rory asked, reaching to touch Lorelai's forehead. "You have to be sick if you are talking about Jess without a vain in your forehead ready to pop from the aggravation."

Lorelai smiled, "No really. We talked last night. He's … changed, Rory."

Rory sighed, and turned her head, when a girl walked down the stairs and behind the counter, "Is that Luke's illegitimate kid?"

Lorelai laugh, letting a few snorts escape, "Yeah." Rory stared at her, eyes demanding answers. "She lives with Jess. He brought her here to shape her up. He was worried about her, and decided to bring her someplace… well, good enough for her. She's a mini Jess." Lorelai explained, and Rory nodded. "Hey maybe you'll fall in love with her just the way you fell in love with Jess, hah." Lorelai grinned at her daughter, who looked back, with no facial expression. "Okay, not a joking time."

- - - - -

"Who are you?" Caesar asked, as Riley appeared at the take-out window.

Riley stared at him, and stuck her hand out, "Just hand me the food, and tell me where the tables are."

"Ookay," Caesar's eyes got wide, handing the plates to Riley, who groaned.

Spotting Lorelai, Riley walked over looking at Lorelai exasperated. Lorelai pouted, "Hi Riley. How are ya?"

"Fifteen minutes," Riley said, catching eye contact with Rory.

"Rory," Lorelai said, pointing to Riley. "This is Riley. Riley, this is Rory."

Riley smiled, "Rory. Hi."

"Hey," Rory smiled back, unsure of what else she should do.

Riley rolled her eyes, seeing the couple at the table next to them, waiting impatiently for their food, "Twelve minutes and thirty seconds."

Putting the plates down on their table, as they muttered a thank you, she walked back to get more orders, stopping when a little girl with glasses and curly hair stood in front of her.

"Hi," She said, with a smile. "Is Luke here?"

"Yeah."

"Uh," She looked around. "Where is he?"

"Who are you?" Riley asked, walking to a table as the girl followed.

"I'm April, his daughter?" She said confused to who this was.

"Oh!" Riley said, turning around to face April. "Hah, April showers bring May flowers." April stared at her, "He's upstairs. Go on up."

Sighing as April went upstairs; Riley spotted Dean standing by the cash register. Riley looked at Lorelai, who seemed to be upset, looking at the stairs, and Rory looked uncomfortable, trying to shield her face from Dean's vision. "Dean-o," Riley said, standing in front of the register. "How may Luke's Diner help you?"

"Uh, I made an order," Dean said, and Riley turned around to the brown paper bag, handing it over to Dean. "Thanks," Dean dug into his pocket to hand his money over. "So how do you know Jess?"

"Why do you care?" Riley asked, trying to figure out how to open the register.

"I-I don't care, I just wanted to-" Dean said, before Riley gave a laugh. "You seem like a good kid, I was just wondering why you were with someone as dysfunctional as Jess."

Riley gave one last laugh, and shook her head, "Well, _Dean_-" Before Riley could continue, her eyes in slits, Luke appeared with April by his side.

"Riley, you could go up now," Luke said, and Riley glared at Dean before heading upstairs.

Luke opened the register, and mumbled, "She'll probably rip you apart if you talk to her again. So, I wouldn't do it anymore." Dean clenched his jaw, took the change, and walked out with his paper bag.


	10. Bridge Talk

_Disclaimer: Don't own anything except Riley. _

_A/N: Ah, so there's a consensus, Dean is an idiot. Hah, I actually liked Dean for a little bit during Gilmore Girls, but he truly annoyed me when Jess came into town. No idea why, but I just found Jess so much better. Basically I only liked him when Tristan or Jess weren't in the picture. Anyway, thanks for the reviews, they are lovely. It makes me happy that you guys like this, and please keep the enjoyable reviews coming!_

- - - - - - -

"You wanna go to the bridge?" Riley asked, as she and Jess had their feet up, watching _Happy Days_.

Jess tilted his head all the way back, checking the time, "It's twelve."

"So?"

"Luke will get mad," Jess said, and Riley raised an eyebrow. "Fine, let's go."

"I'll meet you there," Riley said, grabbing her coat, giving a nod to Lorelai, who was altering Lane's wedding dress.

Jess sighed, as she closed the door behind her. Pulling his converses on, he looked at Lorelai, "When Luke gets out of the bathroom, can you tell him-"

"That you guys are running around, ready to vandalize the town? Sure," Lorelai said, and Jess gave a laugh.

"Yeah, that. Thanks," He said, closing the door behind him.

- - - -

Opening the diner door, Jess watched Rory's car slowly park. She turned off her lights, shut off her engine, and smiled as she got out of the car.

"Hey," She said, approaching him.

"Hey," Jess replied, not ready for the awkwardness they were about to encounter.

"I'm sorry," Rory said, not pausing to any instincts screaming for her not to say anything.

"It's okay," Jess replied, shrugging his right shoulder.

"No, it's not. You don't deserve any of that. I shouldn't have done that. I'm so sorry," Rory said, shaking her head.

Jess sighed, "Rory, its okay, no need to go into contortions. I just…" She looked up at him, "I wanna spend time with you while I'm here. I'm not gonna be staying forever, but maybe we could do the whole friends thing while I'm here?"

Rory smiled, "Yeah. That sounds good. That sounds really good."

Jess gave his infamous smirk, "Well, good."

"Well, I gotta go give this to my mom. It's for Lane's dress," Rory said, and Jess opened the door for her. "I'll see you later?"

"Yeah," Jess said. "Later."

Rory smiled to herself, turning around to see Jess walking across the towns square. Her smiled faded when thoughts of giving Jess up seemed suddenly wrong. That maybe he was grown up and it was finally the right time for them to be together. Rory frowned even more when the name Logan popped up in her mind.

- - - -

"Jess," Riley said, hearing the wood creak underneath someone's feet. "What took you so long?" Riley looked up, seeing a tall figure, and the brown floppy hair, of Dean. "What the hell? Are you stalking me? I'm not eighteen. This stalking can end up very bad for you."

"No," Dean said, scared to sit down. "I just saw you walking here, and I was just making sure that you didn't get lost. "

"You do realize you live in Stars Hollow, right?" Riley asked, swinging her feet on the bridge. "What do you want?"

"Nothing," Dean shrugged. "Just wanted to ask why you're here in Stars Hollow. It doesn't seem like you want to be here."

"Jess made me," Riley mumbled, remembering why she was stuck there for a few days.

"Is that why you hate me, because Jess does? Does he tell you stuff about me?" Dean asked and Riley shook her head, rolling her eyes. "I'm pretty sure what he says are lies."

Riley looked up at him, "Why do you think everything is about you?"

"What? I don't get what you're saying." Dean asked, and Riley gave a scoff.

"Oh, then I'll talk slowly. I don't like you because I don't like you. Not because of Jess. You always think it's about _you_. Maybe I just don't like people. Which is only half true, because I like some people, but I don't like you, which was my point," Riley rambled, before pausing. "Jess is talking to Rory because he wants to mess with my head. Jess came to talk to Rory because he knew I was there. Jess hates me and is using Rory against me. Me, me, me. Does this sound familiar to you? Because it really should." Riley looked at Dean, whose jaw was clenched, and was shaking his head. "Well get over yourself, Dean-o."

Before Dean had the chance to say anything back, Riley watched the figure of Jess walking towards them. "Dean, what the hell are you doing?" Jess asked, standing in front of Dean, looking up at him, scowls on their faces.

"Flashback to many years ago, where a young Jess Mariano looks up at the extremely tall specimen of a man named Dean, with a girl in the distance," Riley mumbled, standing up.


	11. Late Night Fights

_Disclaimer: Don't own anything in Gilmore Girls, I just own Riley. _

_A/N: I know I haven't updated this as frequently as I used to, but I've been busy with research report I can't seem to finish, or start that is. Anyway, on to the chapter, it brings up another conflict that will come up more often in the next chapters. I'm so glad people like this, thanks for much for the reviews, that I love, and please keep those reviews coming!_

- - - - - - - -

"What are you doing here talkin to her man?" Jess asked, the two puffing their chests out, and faces inching together.

"I was just talking to her Jess, you know, just the way you would just talk to Rory," Dean retorted and Jess rolled his eyes.

"Oh come on Dean-o, let it go, already!" Jess yelled back, and Riley stood there, shaking her head.

"Ridiculous. Immature kids," Riley muttered to herself. Riley didn't hear what Dean said back, but she did see the two of them crash into the murky water in the dark, splashing her on their way in. "Oh my God! Get out!" Riley watched, as the two took turns dunking each other in the water. "Get your asses out of the damn water!" Riley began jumping and down, but realized that the bridge was wooden, then just stomped on one foot. "Get out of the water you two! Now! Don't make me get Taylor out here! He'll annoy the hell out of you, and you guys will be helping each other swim away." But they didn't hear a word she was saying, "Don't make me get Luke!" Riley thought, "I'm gonna go get Rory! She'll see how immature you both are, and won't talk to both of you again. She'll turn her nose at you, and run into the arms of her Porsche riding boyfriend."

With that the two boys looked up, considering what Riley had to say, and Jess stuck his arm out, "Help me up." Riley, in annoyance, basically picked up Jess by herself, as he jumped, getting out as much water as he could out of his pants. "Come on," Jess said, walking away, while Dean floated in the water, and Riley looked back.

"Uh," Riley said, looking back at Jess and Dean. "Geez," She muttered, giving a hand out to Dean, pulling him out. "Don't ever remember that act of kindness."

"Will do, thank-"

"Nope! Don't do it," Riley said, sprinting to catch up with Jess.

- - - - -

"I hate him talking to you," Jess said, his voice deep.

Riley rolled her eyes, "I just insult him."

"He still talks to you, I don't like th-that," Jess stuttered seeing Rory's eyes bulge in confusion. "Great."

"Hey, are you guys okay?" Rory asked, watching Jess's clothes drop water.

Jess looked at Riley, about to confess his millionth fight with Dean, until Riley nudged him, and quickly said, "I bet him that he wouldn't go into the gross water. But I was wrong."

"Uh, yeah," Jess said, and Riley nodded. The two turned around seeing Rory look past them to Dean, who was also dripping wet.

Dean just looked at the three of them, then stared at his shoes leaving wet marks behind him, and continued to walk in his own direction.

"Uh," Riley said, making a face. "Uh, well I bet Dean, too."

"Oh," Rory nodded, not believing their excuse. "Well, am I going to see you guys at Lane's wedding tomorrow? I gotta head back to school, and it's already way too late."

Riley nodded, gave a smile, and walked away, leaving Jess to give her a goodbye.

"She's funny," Rory said, as the door closed behind Riley.

"Hilarious," Jess muttered, shaking his head. "But I deal with her anyway." Rory smiled, and Jess shrugged, "Or she just deals with me."

"Are you gonna tell me about her one day?" Rory asked, taking a stab at the friendship they wanted to gain.

Jess nodded, "One day. It's late though, you should probably rush home."

Rory pointed, "That I should." She walked around Jess, and to her car. "I think it's a good thing whatever you're doing for Riley. It's like you're a big brother, and doing a great job at it."

Jess grinned, "Thanks." Rory smiled back, got into her car, started it up, and drove away, leaving Jess there with a mere sigh.

- - - -

"What are you doing?" Jess asked, seeing Riley sitting by the door, not going into the apartment.

"They're fighting," Riley whispered, pointing her thumb towards the door. "About April. Lorelai asked why Luke was so against her hanging out with April, and then Luke didn't know what to say." Jess sat down next to Riley.

"Why would he not let her hang out with April?" Jess asked himself and Riley shrugged.

"Call us curious," Riley mumbled, tilting her head back. "Should we just go in there, sticking ourselves into an awkward situation, or maybe worse, put us in there and they continue to fight?"

"Since you put it like that," Jess looked down at her and shook his head. "Hell no." The two sat in the darkness, hearing the yells of Lorelai and Luke, with thoughts running through both of their minds. Thoughts about a girl, and about a big brother.


	12. Marathon to the Church

_Disclaimer: Don't own Gilmore Girls, but I do own Ray and Riley. _

_A/N: Thanks for the reviews you guys, I love them dearly, and I love how you guys are sticking with this story. So very sorry that I haven't been updating, I just gotta get some motivation for my old stories, who are severely suffering. There's a lot of stuff about Riley in here, and it's a bit angsty. I will be upping the drama soon, so be aware of that, hah. Anyway, on to the chapter, and feedback in reviews please!_

- - - - - - - -

"Where are you going now?" Lorelai yelled, as Jess and Riley continued to look up in the light glowing from the door.

"I'm gonna take a walk," Luke replied softly, not yelling back, but tired. He opened the door, looking back, as he closed it. He looked down at the two, eyes wide, faces innocent looking, and jumping back, his hands glued to the door behind him. "What are you two doing there?"

"Just waiting until you guys were done fighting," Riley said, softly.

"We weren't fighting," Luke said, rolling his eyes.

Riley and Jess looked at each other, and Jess looked back up at Luke, "Right."

"Yeah," Luke said, uncomfortably. "I'm going for a walk." He watched as Jess stood up, his hair wet, and clothes damp. "What the hell happened to you?"

Jess looked down at Riley, who smiled, finding the fight to be funny now, "She pushed me in." 

Riley's eyebrows furrowed, as she pushed Jess forward. The two walking into the apartment, closing the door on Luke, standing in the darkness.

- - - - - -

"Hey," Riley kneeled down in front of Jess, who just snored in reply. "Jess." He didn't budge. "Look, Rory's here!" Riley said, yet Jess didn't budge. "Huh. I thought that would've worked." Riley turned, sitting down against the couch. The TV was shining the whole apartment with light, and the digital clock was glowing the time four-thirty.

Riley sighed, leaning her head against the couch. She felt the need to talk to someone, her brother being the certain someone. But she always talked to Jess when she had that feeling, but Jess gave up on her for sleep. Riley stood up a little, slowly walking to the phone, standing above it. Staring at it, she bit her bottom lip, nervous on what to do. Groaning, she took the phone, quickly dialing before she could change her mind.

Riley tapped her foot against the floor, silently hoping that her brother wouldn't answer, and she would just be content with trying. But of course that would be too easy. "Hello?" The voice asked through the line, groggy and annoyed with such an early, or late call, depending on the way it was seen. "Who the hell is this?"

Riley smiled a little at the attitude that ran through her family. Whispering, Riley mumbled a, "Hey Ray, it's me."

Riley heard the ruffling in the background, as Ray sat up in bed, "Hey, you okay?"

Riley nodded, "Yeah, I'm okay."

"Why'd you call then?" Ray asked, not rudely, but in pure curiosity. She left him a post it to say she left town; she wouldn't blame him for asking that question.

"Uh," Riley sat down on the hardwood floor. "I just wanted to call and say hi."

"Oh," Ray said, surprised. "Okay." Silence. "How are you?"

"Okay," Riley said. Actually, she'd been pretty crappy considering Jess took her to a town where all she could do was eat, listen to music, read books, and watch TV. She was lacking alcohol, making her more irritable and less resistant to thinking about her life. "You?"

"I've been okay," Ray muttered back.

"Why'd you start dealing?" Riley asked Ray, asking herself what was wrong with her. It must have been late, and she must have been tired to be asking these questions.

"What?" Ray asked, and Riley didn't say a word, knowing he heard her well. "For us. How were we supposed to make money?"

"And you can't stop?" Riley asked, her fist starting to clench.

Ray didn't say much for a little bit, "It's not that easy Riley."

"I guess not," Riley stood up. "I gotta go. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay," Ray said. "Take care of yourself, okay?"

"Yeah," Riley whispered. "You, too." With that she clicked the phone off, sighing, then turning around to see Jess propped up by his elbows, watching her. "What the hell are you looking at?"

Jess shook his head, "Nothin."

"Okay, good," Riley said, going to the sheets where Luke made a place for her to sleep.

- - - - - - - -

Jess stood in front of the Kim household, with Riley by his side. He looked down at one of Luke's old suits that he borrowed, and at the dress Riley borrowed from Rory. Of course it was an older dress because Riley was an inch shorter than Rory was. Well inches, not an inch.

"You wanna go in the house?" Jess asked, and Riley raised an eyebrow.

"Did you see how many people are stuffed in there?" Riley asked, and Jess nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure it'll be over soon though."

Riley and Jess's faces scrunched, and their eyebrows furrowed as some of the guests began tip toeing their way out, and once out of range of the door, ran towards the town church. "What?"

"Such a weird ass town," Riley mumbled, and Jess nodded along with her. "Wait, why-"

Riley started as more and more people ran out, running towards the church. Jess looked down at her, and asked, "Do you think we should follow?" The two moved over as Lane's grandma came out, and people filed out behind her. The two watched as the grandma was waved off, and people stampeded towards the church.

Riley nodded, "We should definitely." Riley said, before getting pushed by the people around her. Her eyes got wide in fury, wanting to punch everyone that brushed by her. Instead, Jess took her wrist, and began running. "Such a weird ass town!" Riley yelled, as someone running by looked at her. "Hell yes, I'm talking to you!"

"Riley," Jess groaned, and Riley rolled her eyes, keeping her mouth shut.

- - - - -

Walking around at the after-after-wedding party, Jess spotted Riley staring at the alcoholic beverages in a cooler. He walked over to her, and stared at the cooler, tempting himself, but knowing it must've been harder to Riley.

"Don't do it," Jess said, and Riley shot him a glare.

"I haven't had a drink in days," Riley mumbled, and Jess shrugged.

"Stick to it. Please, for me," Jess said, and Riley nodded. Riley looked up, spotting Rory run to a Porsche. "Logan's here."

"What?" Jess asked, looking up. "He's not even out of the car, how do you know that's Logan?"

"Oh, sorry, my fault. Dean's the rich boyfriend then? Or I didn't get those names confused?" Riley asked, and Jess shot her glance to his right. "Well, go fight him. It'll be good entertainment."

"No way," Jess said, turning around, and walking to Lorelai, sitting by herself, since Luke was out of town.

Riley watched him walk away, and grabbed a Smirnoff, keeping her stare at Jess, making sure he didn't see. She quickly grabbed a cup, and poured it in, smiling at how it resembled Sprite. Taking sips of her drink, she watched as Rory hugged Logan, the two obviously stuck in a relationship slump. Scrunching her nose, she turned around to see a Lorelai who was getting her share of drinks for that night.

Riley's eyes got wide, and shook her head, "Drama Drama Drama is a comin."


	13. Drunken Confessions

_Disclaimer: Still don't own anything from Gilmore Girls, just the original character. _

_A/N: I know know know that I haven't updated in a while. I was in a state of denial, but one of the things about solving a problem is admitting it, right? Well, I have got some writer's block. I'm avidly working trying to get past it, which explains why I haven't updated in a while. I was having trouble on what I should write about. The block is getting better though, which is good news for all my neglected stories. Hopefully the next chapter won't be more than a week away. Anyway, hope you guys are still reading, and hope you like this. Reviews, please!_

- - - - - - - -

Jess slapped his forehead. He peeked over his hand to look at Lorelai, making a fool of herself on stage, obviously having too much to drink. Jumping up a little in surprise, he turned to Riley, who plopped down next to him.

"She's waaasted," Riley said, lazily, elbows against the table, and slumped foreword.

Jess stared at her, as she smiled lazily in reply, and he grabbed the cup from her hands. Taking a sip, he put the cup down, face serious as he stared at Riley, straight in the eyes. She looked around, trying to ignore him, then groaned in defeat. "You're drinking?"

"Does that taste like Sprite to you?" Riley gave a laugh, "It's funny how Smirnoff's look like Sprite. Isn't it? Then when you slip the vodka in there, can't even tell."

Jess shook his head, taking another chug out of the cup, "You said you weren't gonna drink."

Riley pointed, "Nope, I didn't say a thing. I said, Logan's here." 

The two head's snapped foreward, seeing Christopher and Sookie pull Lorelai off stage. Lorelai held onto the mic, blubbering words and singing random songs.

"I gotta go help them," Jess said, getting up from the chair. Before walking away, he turned to see Riley reaching for her cup, but he quickly snatched it. "No drinking anymore!" Jess said, dumping her drink into the grass. "I mean it, Riley." He said, and she glared. Before she could yell a comment at him, he walked away to settle down Lorelai.

Before so, he remembered Rory, and where she could be while her mother was making the drunken speech of the year. About the third time that night. He turned in circles; eyes open for her blue eyes, and brown hair. Sighing, he saw as Rory and Logan standing across from each other, in front of his car. Their body language filled with clenched fists, and space between them. Jess shook his head, as Logan climbed into his car, Rory stepped out of the way, and Logan sped off. 

Crossing her arms, Rory stared at Logan's car, waiting until the lights were completely out of sight. She turned, catching instant eye contact with Jess. In embarrassment, she looked down as she walked towards him.

Turning to his right, expecting to Riley basically knocked out on the table. He didn't see the little girl there. He didn't see anyone there. Spinning in circles, he couldn't spot her.

"What's wrong?" Rory asked, seeing the panicked look on Jess's face. 

"Riley," He muttered. "She's wasted, and not here."

Rory looked around with him, searching for Riley's face, "I'll go look for her."

Jess held her arm back, "No it's okay, I'll look. You should help your mom."

"We'll meet you back at the house?" Rory asked, the two walking in different directions.

"Sounds good," Jess said, giving her a nod, and running into the darkness, the sound of Lorelai talking into the mic slowly diminishing.

- - - - -

"Riley!" Jess yelled, running to the bridge, sure that she was there. "Riley?" Jess asked to himself, not seeing her there. "Where the hell is she?" Jess turned around, ready to run up and down the streets. Wouldn't be a far run considering how many left turns you had to take to get into the same place.

Groaning in relief, ten minutes later from standing on the bridge, Jess saw Riley stumbling down the street, another Smirnoff in hand. "Riley," Jess yelled, after her.

Turning her head, she continued to walk, and didn't stop, "Go away." 

"Riles," Jess said, catching up to her. "Tell me what's going on." 

Riley shook her head, "No." Her voice cracking slightly.

"Seriously Riley, what's going through your mind right now?" Jess asked, softly, knowing she was going to break soon.

"Does Ray even care?" She asked, but it sounded as if she was talking to herself. Jess looked at her, "I mean I guess he cares a little. But he doesn't care enough. I mean, our dad never cared. Mom cared too much." Riley was quietly talking to herself, the bottle swinging in between her fingers. She muttered something to herself, not audible enough for Jess to hear, and then took a swig of her drink. "He's all I have left, and he doesn't even care."

Jess stared at her, as took a finger to quickly wipe her face, turning away so Jess wouldn't stare.

"I have nowhere to go. I got no plans in life. I'm gonna end up working at a grocery store like Taylor's or something," Riley shook her head. "Jess, what am I gonna do?" She looked over at Jess, who continued to stare.

Jess looked down, no response, and put his arm around her, "You'll be fine, Riley. I know it."

"How do you know?" Riley asked, unable to walk straight, finding comfort in Jess, who was now holding her up.

"Because you have me, and Ray, even if you think he's abandoned you," Jess said. "Hell, if I could make it, you can definitely make it."

Riley sighed, "I'm kicking your ass if I fail because you gave me hope."

Jess smiled, "Sounds good."

Riley stopped walking, "Where are we going?"

Jess pointed down the street, "Rory's house." He looked down at her hand, "Can you please stop drinking? That's enough for today."

Riley groaned, "Put it where?"

Jess shrugged, "Throw it?"

Riley smirked, and threw the bottle down the street, the glass shattering, breaking the silence on the empty road.

Jess held his arm out, and Riley slipped under it, "Taylor will hate it."

"So it's going to be me, you, Rory, Christopher, and a drunken Lorelai in one house?" Jess nodded, "Well, it's gonna be a fun night."


	14. Just Tell Her

_Disclaimers: Don't own anything except Riley and Ray. _

_A/N: Hey guys, I know you wanna shoot me for not updating quicker, especially after the amount of lovely reviews that I got. Thanks so much for that by the way, and I'm really sorry it's been taking me so long to update. I've been concentrating a lot on my Four Brothers story, so it takes times away from my neglected-ish stories. I had this chapter done days ago though, but then I couldn't upload the document. I did find a way though, just to get this to you guys, so I hope you like it. Reviews, please. _

- - - - - - -

For two drunkards in the house, it was a surprise to how quiet it was at the moment. Or maybe the two were so drunk that their heads passed out hitting the pillows. Not only was the house quiet, but the living room held a tension that had eyes wondering around the room, and stiff movements so a rustle of movement couldn't even be heard.

Jess's elbows rested against his knees, as he sat up, glance down, avoiding Christopher's glare. "So," Jess said, awkwardly. "How are you, Mr. Hayden?" Jess made a face, "Rory's dad."

Christopher sat there, inspecting Jess, as Jess's eyes got wide, starting to look away. "I've been good, Jess," He spat out. "What have you been doing? You have a job?"

Jess nodded, "Have a job, write books, and have a publishing company." Christopher, intrigued, sat up a little, his face not so angry.

"Really?" Christopher asked, "How's the publishing company going?"

"We had an opening a few days ago," Jess said, formally, as if in an interview. "It went really well. Seems like it's gonna be a good thing, instead of a waste of my time."

Christopher nodded, "Well, you seem like you have some stuff together. That's good."

"Uh," Jess stared at him. "Yes, it is."

"You're doing very well for yourself?" Christopher said, making it sound more of a surprised question, than a compliment.

Jess stared, not sure if it was meant to be in question form. Christopher gave him a look, "Oh, yes yes, sir." He said, making it sound more and more like an interview.

Christopher made a face, "Sir? Makes me sound old, Jess."

Jess smirked. This was a better. A joke here in and there, "Well, I wasn't sure what to call you."

Christopher nodded, smiling, and looking up, "So, do you have a girlfriend?"

With that, Jess's smirk dropped, and he stared.

"Hey," Rory said, walking down the stairs in a hurry. She stopped at the bottom step, and smiled at Christopher and Jess, who looked up at her, "What's up?"

"Just having some man talk, your mom okay?" Christopher asked, and Rory nodded.

"She's definitely… settled down to a slumber," Rory said.

Christopher stood up, "I'll go check on her, see if she wakes up."

Rory nodded, and watched as he walked up. She looked over at Jess, who suddenly tensed, "You wanna sleep? You could take the couch tonight."

"What about you?" Jess asked, as she sat on her feet on the couch that still sunk in the same way it used to. "Where are you going to sleep? Since you let Riley pass out in your room."

Rory shook her head, "Nope, college kids hate sleep."

Jess laughed, "I'm sure they do. I'll take the floor somewhere, though. I'm a man. I can take it."

Rory laughed, raising an eyebrow, "You're a man now?"

"Getting there."

She nodded, "Actually, you are. You've accomplished so much. Have I told you I'm so proud of you?"

Jess smiled, "You've muttered it a few times."

"Well, I really mean it," Rory said, smiling back. "I do, I mean I can't believe it, not that I couldn't believe you could do it. I knew you could. But you've done so much already. You wrote a book. You still have a job. You have your company. You have everything going for you. It's great, and you still find the time to take care of Riley."

Jess looked down a little, and gave a laugh, "Ah, Riley."

"Why? What happened with Riley?" Rory asked, leaning in to hear him better.

Jess shook his head, "I brought her here to think about some things. Now that she has, and she's basically hit rock bottom, I don't know where to go now. I mean, do I get her and her brother to live together again? Is he going to stop selling? Is she gonna go to some type of school?" He looked up to see Rory's eyes wide, and confused. "Long stories."

Rory put her hands together, fiddling with her thumbs, "I'm sure you'll figure it out. You figured it out for yourself, maybe Riley will too. Since she is pretty much like you."

Jess laughed, "She is, huh."

Rory nodded, "Down to the smirk that she does."

Jess looked up, "Uh, how are you and Logan?" He muttered, and Rory looked up, surprised. Jess didn't ask these questions. Jess didn't ask many questions. Heck, he didn't talk much. But that was years ago. Rory didn't know who the "man" in front of her was anymore. Maybe he was all that she knew Jess could be. All that she wanted him to be for her. But now, that he's here in front of her, she couldn't even let go of the one that treats her worse than the old Jess did.

"Ah, Logan," Rory mumbled. "Uh, we just had another fight tonight. We always have fights, so it's no surprise."

Jess pursed his lips together. He didn't wanna say it. He really didn't. But the words were forming in his throat, urging to come out. "Wait, so why are you still with him?"

Rory look up, and Jess looked down cursing himself for asking. "Well," She said, trying to think of something to say. Jess looked right at her, "I don't know."

"Because you love him?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know."

"I don't."

"Oh," Jess said, the silence taking them. "Well, I should check up on Riley, right?"

Rory stood up, "Right."

"Right," Jess said standing up to go check on her, and Rory plopped back onto the couch. What did she just do? And why was she playing with him like this? … But it was Jess. She always had the urge to keep doing towards Jess. She always had the urge to keep Jess close to her, to always have Jess by her side.

- - - - - -

"Riles," Jess said, shaking her a little.

Her eyes snapped open, and she pushed his arms away, "What are you doing? Waking up a drunken sleeping person is the worst ever. Scientists say that it's worse than waking up a sleep walking person."

Jess ignored her ramble, "She doesn't know if she loves him."

"What?"

"Rory," Jess pointed, yelling silently. "What do I do?"

"Jesus," Riley rolled her eyes, head hitting the pillow. "Tell her you freakin' idiot."

"Tell her," Jess told himself, as Riley knocked out again. "Okay, tell her. I could do that." He faced the door, "I couldn't even tell her I was leaving town, how am I supposed to tell her now?" He looked at her bookcase. The books lining the shelves, as their first words to each other filled his mind. "Just tell her." He said, taking a breath, and walking out the bedroom door.


	15. Phone Calls and Eloquence

_Disclaimer: Don't own anything except Riley. _

_A/N: Ah, it's been a while since I update this, I hope you guys are still reading. There's a lot of stuff in this chapter, since I owe you guys a lot. There's JessRory, some implied ChristopherLorelai, and definitely implied LorelaiLuke problems. It sets up for some drama, and feelings to come out. Anyway, not much to say, except I hope you enjoy. Forgive me for not updating for a while, and please, keep the lovely reviews/feedback coming. _

- - - - - - - - -

"Okay," Jess mumbled to himself, holding onto the side of the doorway. "You have this, it's yours, and it is all good." Jess built up his courage, took a deep breath, and walked out into the living room before he could spin around, on the heel of his foot. "Rory," Jess said, walking in, and walked a little slower seeing Christopher come down the stairs. Jess stared at the empty couch to the right of him. "Uh," Jess muttered, and Christopher looked at him, oddly. 

"You all right, Jess?" He asked, walking past Jess, and into the kitchen to grab something to eat.

"Uh," Jess stood there, looking up towards the stairs, a feeling of relief and disappointment washing over him. "I'm great," He mumbled, following Christopher into the kitchen. Poking his head into Rory's room, he could see Riley, still passed out, on the bed, and he closed the door.

"So, is she your friend?" Christopher asked, pouring himself a cup of coffee, and handing a cup to Jess. "Or uh-"

"Nope, not even my friend really," Jess thought. "Or maybe she's my best friend, I don't know. Her name is Riley, she basically lives in my apartment."

Christopher nodded, "She looks a nice girl."

Jess stared at him, completely serious, "Yeah, well, she's sleeping right now." He took a sip of his coffee, "I apologize."

"For what?" Christopher asked, the cup wrapped with his fingers.

"For whatever she will say in the future," Jess said, and Christopher nodded, confused but in understanding.

"So you and Rory seem to be keeping touch," Christopher said, and Jess searched his face for sarcasm.

"Nope, haven't talked to her in a while actually," Jess said, excluding his memory of her visit, knowing Rory's father wouldn't want to know how she used a poor innocent boy, whose hopes were too high. Not like Jess was poor and innocent at all, he probably deserved that she did to him for all he did to her. "But we can still talk to each other, which is nice."

"I used to really hate you," Christopher said, bluntly, and Jess looked up, expecting a fist to the eye. "My daughter hurt her arm, and you broke her heart, from what I heard." Jess felt a pang of guilt and his stomach churned. "But you seem like a good kid now. All grown up."

Jess smirked, "I don't think I'll ever grow up."

"Do you know me and Lorelai?" Christopher asked, and Jess smiled. "Yeah, we're perfect examples of not growing up." Jess stared at Christopher, while he looked down, a small smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye. He furrowed his eyebrows, because it was exactly the way he looked when he thought of him and Rory.

"Wanna take your shift?" Rory asked from the hallway, and the two looked up at her.

"Sure," Christopher said, taking his cup with him, and giving Jess a small smile.

Jess gave an unintended nervous smile back. Rory was here. He was going to have to tell her. Jess took a big gulp of coffee, eyes wide, and set the mug down, "Rory…"

"What is wrong with Luke?" Rory blurted, quickly sitting in front of Jess. "He's hurting my mom. Did you know he's so set on her not even meeting April? Why? I mean, it is so un-Luke like. He might have his reasons, but you did hear the speeches my mother slurred through the microphone, right?"

Jess stared at her, his words of love to her completely gone, from her rant and time of need, "I don't know." Jess mentally slapped himself for such a caring response, "I didn't know that he was keeping April from her. I thought she was just having a good time on the stage." Rory smiled, and he did too, "I'll talk to him about it. I'm sure he has some type of reason. Luke's a smart guy; he wouldn't be doing this for just any reason."

Rory nodded, and looked down at the table. The two caught in a comfortable silence, "How long are you staying again?" Jess looked up at her, and for a second he saw hope in her face, hoping he would be staying longer.

"Oh," Jess said, looking down. "I actually have no idea. I just came here on impulse actually, I wasn't sure what I had planned for Riley, or if my plan would even work." Jess gave a laugh, "I don't even know."

Rory gave him a small comfort smile, ready to say something until the ring of her cell phone broke the silence first. "Sorry," Rory mumbled, walking to the counter, and digging through her bag. Jess watched as she stared at the name blinking from the phone, and he automatically knew it was Logan.

"Hey," Rory said, low, and uninterested.

Jess's eyebrows went up, and his confidence flooded back to him with the disinterest in her voice. He sat up straight, and muttered, "Rory." She turned around to look at him, eyebrows raised, and mouthing, "What?" Jess shook his head, realizing that he picked the perfect time to say something: when she was on the phone. But he had to say something, or in a few seconds, the courage would be gone.

But she turned around, and mouthed, 'I'm sorry' and walked to the door. Jess's shoulders slumped. He lost. He lost his chance to tell her, he lost her, and obviously lost some dignity.

Still pouting, he looked over at Rory's door which opened slowly, with a petite girl whose hair was sticking up, and was scratching the back of her head in annoyance.

"What the hell happened to you?" Riley asked, yawning. "Did you tell her? Did she say something bad?"

Jess shook his head, "Didn't tell her."

Riley groaned in frustration, "You know what? I'll tell her then." She said, walking slowly towards the door.

Giving a small gasp, Jess stood up quickly, pulling Riley back by her shoulder, and opened the door in a hurry, and closing it behind him even quicker.

Rory jumped, spinning around, and gave Jess a weird look, seeing Jess's eyes closed, and him breathing hard. "Logan, I'll call you back," She said, not even waiting for Logan to say bye. "Jess, are you okay? What's going on?"

He was older now. He was more of an eloquent speaker now. He wasn't going to say 'I love you' and then run away. He could do this. This was his chance, "Well, I uh- you see- this is- I have uh-" Obviously he wasn't all the things he thought he was, or half the man he thought he was.

Rory turned her concerned gaze, back to her phone, which was ringing in her hand.

"Rory, I still lo- like you," Jess muttered, quickly, trying to beat Logan. She froze, and slowly looked up. "I mean, you did know, right? When you came, and I was just so excited for you to come, and I kissed you. I mean, I think you knew. It's just-" She stared at him, still confused, as her phone rang in her hand. "Rory, it's you. I don't think I can get over you. But I'm not that stupid boy that literally ran away from you. I've been through some stuff, and it still ends up being you that I think about."

Jess watched as Rory looked down at her phone, and slowly brought it closer to her face. She opened it, looked at Jess, and then flipped it back shut. Jess smiled, but Rory still stared.

"Jess," Rory said, her face softening, "What about Logan?"

Jess's mouth opened. He expected something to come out, but he had nothing. He didn't say a word. He just sat stood there, as the phone rang again.

Rory sighed, clutching the phone in her hand, the silence filling in between them, and the phone's ringing surrounding the world around them.


	16. Disgrace To Men

_Disclaimer: After the long break, still don't own anything except Riley. _

_Rita: Thanks for the review. I finally wrote the chapter though, even though I gotta say, it took forever for me to just sit down and write it._

_A/N: Ah, please don't hate me. I'm so sorry that I haven't updated you guys for this mondo amount of time. But I did try to make it up to you in this chapter. It's long, and action filled, and there are definitely things in that that people have been waiting for. I hope you guys still the story, and please review to tell me what you think of the dramarama that goes on. _

_I'm not sure, but some readers may get confused on how one of the scenes is written. Jess is going be telling Riley a story, but you readers will read it, not from Jess's mouth, but from the actual scene. So Jess is just telling the story, but you don't hear it from him. Yeah, I know it's confusing, and it's hard to explain. Just know, Riley is not with Jess and Rory, she just likes to butt in while Jess is talking. Anyway, if it's a horrible way to write it, just tell me, and I'll make it more understandable. _

- - - - - -

"Wait, so she's gone?" Riley asked, sitting up in Rory's bed, a water bottle and two aspirins in hand. Even with her head throbbing from the bright sun shining through the windows, and her loud, surprised voice contributing to giving herself a bigger headache, she still had to find out what happened.

Jess nodded, "Yeah, she went back to school."

Riley's jaw dropped. She shook her head, closed her eyes, popped the pills in her mouth, and took a drink of water. "God, I can't believe she went back to school. Logan's in her school, right?" Jess nodded, "Man. I am so sorry, Jess. I really thought that she'd go for you, and just forget her asshole of a boyfriend instead of going back to him."

Jess tilted his head to the side, and eyebrows furrowed a little, "Who said she was going back to Logan?" Riley stared at him confused, and Jess smirked.

"What a jerk," Riley mumbled, taking the cap of the water bottle, and hitting Jess right in the forehead with it. "Well, tell me about it, jerk."

"All right, so where exactly do you want me to start?" Jess asked, and Riley stared at him, not replying in the banter he was trying to create. "The death glare. I get it. Well…"

Jess kept his eyes on Rory's hand, clutching onto the ringing phone.

"Rory, I don't know Logan. I don't know if he treats you right. I don't know if he's good enough for you, or if you really are in love with him. But I know that I love you, and no matter how we run from it, we feel it. I know you feel it somewhere in there Rory, because if you didn't, then you would've answered your phone already." Jess said, speaking at a moderate speed, sighing, and looking at Rory the way he did that made her feel completely vulnerable, like he could see right through her.

He was the only one who could do that to her. Make her feel like she can just give in, and be taken care of, because she felt safe when she was with him. He was Jess. He was always going to be Jess.

'_Look, you know we're supposed to be together. I knew it the first time I saw you two years ago, and you know it, too. I know you do.'_

Rory blinked, and the flashback of him begging her to run away with him in the middle of her dorm, was out of her mind. She felt the vibration in her hand, and the ringing sound of the phone traveling around them. But there he stood, waiting for her to make her move on whether this was it for them, because she knew if she turned him down right now that they would be over forever. That she would never have that feeling of protection again.

This was it. Smiling a little, Rory put the phone in her back pocket, standing there awkwardly, as Jess tried to hold in the smile that appeared despite his wishes.

"Aw, you corny kids," Riley cooed.

"Shut up," Jess retorted, and put his hand up, like a girl, and Riley rolled her eyes.

"So, what do we do?" Rory asked, and Jess's smile faded.

He stared at her, watching her smile fade as well, "I don't know." She laughed, "What do you want?"

Rory sighed, looking into the night sky, the stars seeping through the dark and shining bright. She looked at Jess, and shrugged a little, "For it to be the beginning of our senior year."

Jess nodded, "Hm." He looked up at her, "So you want a time machine?"

"That would," Rory nodded, thinking about it, "be really nice."

"Did you kiss her?" Riley asked, interrupting again.

Jess clenched his jaw, "Riley."

"Jeez, just asking. Go on," Riley said, leaning back against the wall.

"Jess," Rory looked down, and began walking toward him, with her hands clamped together. Staring at her, Jess watched as she walked up the stairs, not really sure if was planning to throw herself at him, or tell him that it just wouldn't work out.

"You're such a girl, just kiss her, damn it!" Riley yelled, and Jess groaned.

"Riley!" He yelled, and Riley chuckled in reply.

"Go on," Riley said, taking pleasure in Jess's frustrations. It was helping her headache.

"Before we can start, I have to figure things out with Logan. I've just got to break up with him in a proper way, because well," She paused, at a loss for words for what her Logan were. They were in love. Were. She wasn't so sure about being in love with Logan anymore. "I just have to fix it."

Jess smirked, "I get that. We figure out what we are after you guys fix everything."

Rory smiled, "Exactly.

"And then you kissed her," Riley gave a nod.

"Uh," Jess said, and Riley looked up at him, jaw slightly dropped. "I'm not a man."

"No, you are not," Riley gave him a look of disgust. "So you two just caught up for the rest of the night until she left."

Jess nodded, "Yeah."

Riley shook her head, "A disgrace to all men, you really are."

"Ah, the yoda talk," Jess mumbled.

"Hell yes, you're getting the yoda talk. That was the chance man," Riley said, and Jess sighed, rolling his eyes, knowing she'd go on and on about it. "Well, there goes boyfriend number two that you beat."

Jess raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Ya know. She left Dean for you. She's leaving Logan for you. That's it buddy, you guys have to get married now. Unless you wanna try the whole 'the third time is a charm thing' then you can go send her off to find another great boyfriend who loves her, and then steal her away from them," Riley said, leaning over to put the water bottle on the floor.

"Hah," Jess smiled at himself, his masculinity coming back to him. "That is true."

"You home wrecking whore," Riley said, before getting interrupted by the kitchen door closing. Soon enough, Luke stood in front of them. Riley's eyes got wide at the look on Luke's face. A mixture between infuriated and concerned, giving him a certain look of constipation with a serious mix of anger.

"Lorelai awake yet?" He asked, and Jess stared at him. "Jess."

"Oh," Jess sat up, "Uh no, she's not. You okay, Luke?"

"I'm fine," Luke spat, and walked towards the stairs.

"You think he heard about the not getting married speech Lorelai gave?" Jess asked, looking back at Riley, then back out the bedroom door.

"No doubt about it," Riley said, shaking her head.

Sitting in the same positions, the two looked around, waiting for the yelling to start.

"Me?! You're the one who's mad at me?!" Lorelai yelled, and Riley grimaced knowing that must have made her hangover worse. "It's you who doesn't wanna get married anymore!"

"Who said I didn't wanna get married anymore?!" Luke's voice roared through out the house.

"You didn't have to say it, Luke!" Lorelai answered, "Stop yelling!"

"You started it!" Riley and Jess sat up straight, hearing the foot steps, and the yelling come downstairs.

"Come, come," Jess said quickly, standing up, and grabbing Riley's hand so she hopped off the bed. "Oh," Jess said, hearing them in the living room, pushing Riley out of the kitchen door, and closing the door behind him to hear mere muffled screams.

- - - - - - - - -

"Lorelai-" Luke said, voice more calm.

Lorelai's eyes crashed shut, half from frustration of wanting to tell Luke, and from her head, that felt like it was going to explode. "Luke," She turned around, face serious and calmer. "I need to know."

"What do you want to know?" Luke asked, completely confused. "I'll tell you. Just talk to me, Lorelai."

"Do you still want to get married?" She asked, as her voice cracked, her emotions starting to get the best of her.

"Of cour-"

"I'm not done," Lorelai shook her head. "Let me just finish," Luke nodded. "It feels like you don't even care about it anymore, Luke. I need to know, do you still want to spend the rest of your life with me? Do you want me in your daughter's life? Obviously not, but why? You've been pushing me away, Luke, and I don't know how long I can stay in this place by myself, still wanting to be married when you're hiding your daughter from me. So, tell me Luke."

Lorelai paused, and stared at him, sighing, "What do you want?" Lorelai said, taking a bottle of water, and a few Advil's. "Think about it, Luke, and then come back to tell me later because this headache feels as if I've been hit with a million hammers, and my mother was complaining right beside me."

Luke watched as Lorelai walked passed him, her head down, and slippers sliding on the floor. He looked down to see Paul Anka get up from his sleeping position, from beside the fridge to follow her, his nails clanking against the floor, leaving him in the kitchen that they got rebuilt for their new life together. Or the one they were supposed to have.


End file.
